Saving Minnows

[amateurfishing]

Used 2 minnows in 5 hours yesterday, can I freeze rest individually for more ice fishing later or spring fishing, or do i have to dump them?

[ilovehardwater]

Just get your self a minnow bucket with a foam insert. I just change my water out every time I go out and have had them stay alive for weeks sometimes even a month. Just keep them in the fridge or somewhere very cold when not in use. Im sure the cold slows thier metabolism and makes them use less O2. This works for me. BT

[highlife4me]

I have kept shiners and crappie minnows for over three months. I kept them in seperate styrofoam minnow buckets and removed the dead ones daily and change water weekly or as needed. Keep as cool as possible without freezing. I put mine in the beer fridge. Good luck.

[amateurfishing]

Thanks guys, so I assume everyone buys a $20 bucket to save $2 worth of minnows? OK, not the answer i was expecting. If I keep them do they need to be fed?

[Tom7227]

You can use a cooler as well. Lots of guys use the lunch size cooler for a minnow bucket. I keep mine in an aquarium and feed them goldfish food.

[ilovehardwater]

I actually spent around 35 for my bucket and aerator(without batteries). But I fish with shinners/suckers sometimes and @ 6$ for a dozen shinners and with chubs 1.25$-1.50$ each Sometimes I have 15-20 bucks worth of bait in my bucket. I want to make sure I have enough lively bait when I go out. For years I only fished with mostly fatheads/crappie minnows and had used a coffee can with a styro-foam insert I had purchaced at Gander. Im sure the insert was less than 6$...BT

[EYEonmyWALL]

You don't need the $35 bucket. I have a foam bucket i got for 2.99, and that keeps them just fine. To keep it from crumbling apart while traveling, I upgraded it and put in inside of a 5 gallon bucket. The foam insert is the same size, so with the bucket i already had and the insert, I spent $2.99 to get the equivalent of the $25 one.

[trappingaddiction]

You can also just use a 5 gallon pail. I change the water as needed, and it keeps them alive for quite awhile.

[not_nuf_time]

I have city water, so it seems every time I change out my water, the minnows die. But if I don't change they live. what do you guys that have city water do to minimize the die off when you change water?

[WalleyeChaser]

I have the white bucket with a yellow lid (plano i think)I just bought a areator pump that would go in an aqarium and an air stone and it works great for me! Change the water every 3-4 days depending on the minnows that are in there. Keep the water cold, either in the garage (somtimes it freezes up) or keep throwing a big cup full of ice cubes on them if they are inside. I have had minnows last for a month. VHS is of some concern but as long as the water from the lake isn't transported i don't see a problem with it.

[half-dutch]

I have Mpls city water, use anti-chlorine type conditioner from any pet store and have no problems changing water and saving the minnows. Make sure the temps are close to the same or you may shock them. The cooler you keep them the better the minnows will survive and the fewer water changes they will need.

[broman]

Fill a bucket with water and let it sit for a day or more. The chlorine is a gas and will escape while it sits.

[lost_stringer]

Do I understand the MN law correctly in that you are breaking it if you take your minnows home in lake/river/pond water?

[highlife4me]

I only use minnow bucket water.

[amateurfishing]

Im on city water, is that bad? What is minnow bucket water?

[MikeH55343]

I have city water, so it seems every time I change out my water, the minnows die. But if I don't change they live. what do you guys that have city water do to minimize the die off when you change water?

Chlorine in city water will evaporate in about 24 hours. I keep my minnows in one 5-gal bucket with a cheap W-mart aerator and a second bucket of city water to refresh the water in the minnow bucket. Letting the water sit in the second bucket allows for temperature equalization and chlorine evap.

Really important to removed dead minnows. Decomposition produces ammonia.

[Tom7227]

I have city water, so it seems every time I change out my water, the minnows die. But if I don't change they live. what do you guys that have city water do to minimize the die off when you change water?

If you let the water sit for 24 hours I think the chlorine goes away and it will work. You can buy drops that do it instantly at a pet store.

[CrappieNight]

This guy has been in the bucket with dog food for over a month. Change the water every few days.

[FishLocker]

I have chlorinated city water, and have used Britta and Pur faucet mounted filters and do complete water changes (every drop at once) through the filters and did not lose a minnow. Although adding a 12 oz glass of unfiltered killed half my minnows over night.

I keep them on the concrete floor in the garage, so have to break the ice on the top before and after work and before bed. Just use a 99 cent 'wallyworld special' plastic bucket,nothing special.

Kept for weeks and some cases a month or more when I could not get out on the ice.

[MN BassFisher]

I have a 48 quart cooler with a cheap aerator hooked up to it, I run a hose to an airstone and it adds oxygen to my water. I've kept the same suckers and crappie minnows for a month and a week, ha. I guess I need to start tip up fishing more. I also have city water so I just use some Water Conditioner I had bought for my aquarium, a little goes a long way and keeps my minnows alive. Good investment. My setup is cheap and I just leave it in the garage and remove the skim ice from it every few days.

[eurolarva]

The posters original question was about freezing left over minnows. Not keeping them alive. If you can lay them out on wax paper and freeze them first then when frozen you can put them in small bags. Put maybe 10 or so in each bag then as they slowly thaw you can use them. If you use any lake water you must immediately destroy them on shore. It is not legal to transport live bait off a lake once water has been added from that lake in fact I doubt it is legal to take that live bait off that lake even if you have not added lake water to it.

[half-dutch]

My understanding is that is makes no difference alive or dead. You may not remove minnows from infested waters for use elsewhere, whether you harvest them there or just change water in your minnow bucket there, they must be disposed of there, when you leave.

[GotALunker]

if you don't fish much...and you want to freeze them...go for it. they'll work for pike, not sure about eyes.

otherwise:

cheap 5 gallon pail: menards $3: Lasts forever, multiple uses

minnow aerator: $12: Lasts forever, portable for the boat, remote locations

batteries: $5: lasts a long time in an aerator

let water sit overnight to remove toxins or what I do is use a bottle of declhorinator/mineral remover for my kids goldfish. Comes in a yellow bottle and only costs a couple bucks. You only need a few per gallon. I use this, run the water right in the pail w/ the little swimmers and have had really good luck. they'll last literally for weeks in the cold, less in the warmer. keep them indoors in the basement, that works too.

[TruthWalleyes]

Freeze them minnows, pull out of freezer in 2 months, put in water, add "minnow magic" and watch minnows come alive

[amateurfishing]

They are still in original water from store, no lake water ever used. So I bought the cheap setup last night of foam bucket, tubing, & electic aerator to keep in garage. Do they need to be fed? They have been much more active since i kept them in a coolor with lid closed overnight. They are still in orginal bag and water.